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U.S-Turkey Relations Risk Further Deterioration

Middle East In Focus

Middle East In Focus

Views from the Region

August 12, 2018

The relationship between the United States and its NATO ally Turkey continues to deteriorate, as the two countries pursue a path of brinkmanship rather than cooperation. Some have dated the breakdown in the relationship as far back as the early days of the Iraq war, after Turkey refused the use of one of its bases for forward deployment purposes. Others point to the chaotic alliances and proxy conflicts of the Syrian civil war or the muted U.S. response to the 2016 failed coup attempt in Ankara. But the current stand-off, at least on the surface, is the result of a more innocuous disagreement: the detention in Turkey of a U.S. pastor, Andrew Brunson. The United States has threatened sanctions and has blacklisted high ranking Turkish officials, while Turkey has refused to give in to demands by President Donald Trump to release the American pastor.

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The Middle East Policy Council is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to contribute to American understanding of the political, economic and cultural issues that affect U.S. interests in the Middle East.